Edward IV

1442-1483, House of York, King of England 1461-1470 and 1471–1483. He was the second son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and his wife Cecily Neville, older brother of Richard III who helped him to dispossess Henry VI in 1461 to become king of England.

After his father was killed at the Battle of Wakefield with the Lancastrians, Edward, instead of Henry VI, was proclaimed king in 1460 and declared king in London in 1461. This act replaced the House of Lancaster (red rose) as ruling dynasty and installed the House of York (white rose). This was not uncontested and a civil war called War of the Roses began. At the beginning Edward IV was very successful. He was able to put down Lancastrian rebellions in Wales and North England, Scotland was forced to peace and the insane Henry VI was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

At the end of 1470 Edward IV had to flee to the Netherlands because of an Act of Parliament which brought back Henry VI from the Tower to the throne. With the help of his brother-in-law Charles the Bold Henry VI could be captured again and was executed in 1471. So Eduard IV could confirm his dominion again.

He was an extremely capable and daring military commander, and had an excellent financial management. He was able to defeat the House of Lancaster and was himself never defeated on the battlefield. Together with his wife Elisabeth he had seven daughters and three sons as well as two children born out of wedlock.

Sources: [[1]]

[[2]]

E. B. Pryde (ed.), Handbook of British Chronology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Michael Hicks, Edward IV, London: Arnold Books, 2004.